EDITOR’S NOTE: Trying to get behind the Audio Drama thing we keep talking about on TVWriter™ but knowing what to listen to or where to find it? Here’s a little “Listening Assistant,” found on Imgur by our Audio Drama expert, Bob Tinsley:
Thanks to K.Statz of @STATZINK
If you’ve been paying attention on this site, you know how big Audio Drama is getting. I’ve had five scripts produced and have produced two myself with another ten in the stack promised to producers. Right now audio drama is pretty much the Wild West of the entertainment industry. Even more so than web series, for reasons that will become apparent.
The easiest way to break in (at least, it was pretty easy for me) is to be a Writer-Producer. Writing scripts and sending them out to producers is one way to do it, but most producers are already buried under production schedules of what they currently have.
Audio Dramas (aka Radio Dramas, though that comparison is WAY out of date) are starting to make big noises in the entertainment world. It’s a great proving ground for people who want to be in the entertainment industry as well as established stars, Laurence Fishburne and David Schwimmer for just two examples.
You might also keep in mind that people like Gene Roddenberry wrote for radio before he became a Big Deal. And several properties that began as interweb Audio Dramas are currently in development for TV and movie deals.
As you may have noticed, TVWriter™ has been generously allowing me space from time to time to enthuse about the opportunities for writers in the Audio Drama field. Pursuant to that – and before LB decides to pull the plug – here’s something I think everybody who comes here should know:
The Audio Drama Production Podcast is holding a competition for new audio drama scripts. The bare bones are these:
They will be accepting scripts in any genre except fan fiction in three categories: 10-minute, 15-minute, and 30-minute scripts. For those of you unfamiliar with audio scripts a decent rule of thumb is 165 to 185 words of finished script to one minute of run time.
In case you haven’t run across me before, I’m a big fan of Audio Drama (think radio shows with better – mostly – production values). Considering that most Audio Dramas are put together with production budgets of nothing (less even, usually, than web series), the quality of writing and acting can be surprising. That doesn’t mean all Audio Dramas are put together on a shoestring. Some of them, like “Bronzeville” with Laurence Fishburne, have real budgets, SAG contracts and Big Names attached.
Whatever budget, Audio Dramas are fun. Here are some of my favorites from 2017 in alphabetical order:
“A Scottish Podcast.” (https://scottishpodcast.com) A tongue-in-cheek horror series detailing the activities of a couple of ne’er-do-well musicians who decide to do a paranormal investigation podcast.